It was just last November that Virginia and Villanova met in Baltimore, with UVA using some solid three-point shooting to defeat the Wildcats, 70-60.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Fast-forward less than a year, and the Cavaliers use the three-pointer effectively to claim a 75-72 victory over Villanova in the season’s final exhibition game on Friday night at JPJ.
Oh, and for the change, both the Wildcats and the Cavaliers have new head coaches.
Kevin Willard coaches Villanova, coming over from Maryland, where he was head coach for three seasons.
Virginia’s new boss is Ryan Odom, who moved up Interstate 64 from VCU after two years.
In Friday’s tune-up, the Cavaliers sank 5-of-10 from beyond the arc in the game’s first 14 minutes, while preventing a three from the Wildcats over the same span.
Virginia pushed its lead to double digits in the opening second-half minutes, and every time Villanova drew closer, the Cavaliers had an answer.
Villanova played its first exhibition game Sunday, easily dispatching Odom’s former team, VCU, 70-51.
Friday, despite being down four rotation players, the Wildcats stayed close throughout the contest.
“I thought we got everything out of this game we could have wanted,” said Willard on his way to the Villanova team bus.
“Hey, this was a great atmosphere, and that’s what we anticipated having. We had three freshmen playing in their first road game, and overall, this was a great challenge that I believe we accepted well,” added Willard.
My AFP colleague, Chris Graham, and I noted throughout the game that Willard seemed to be playing more like a regular-season game, with three Villanova starters logging over 34 minutes each.
When asked, Willard confirmed our observation: “Absolutely,” said Willard. “I mean, really, to come in here and not take advantage of this environment wasn’t going to happen. It’s why I think these exhibitions are more valuable than closed scrimmages. You get to learn a lot about your team.”
Virginia pressing?
The Cavaliers applied full-court pressure whenever they could against the young and thin Villanova backcourt.
And it worked.
Virginia forced six ’Nova turnovers in the game’s first nine minutes, which helped the Cavaliers jump out to an early 17-10 lead.
From the view in press row, watching UVA press without being forced to press was probably what they had in mind when they removed the bottoms of the peach baskets.
“I thought their (Virginia) physicality got us on our heels early,” said Willard. “They were super aggressive early. I liked how we adjusted in the second half.”
Willard said that it is evident that Virginia has plenty of talent. “It might take a few games, but Virginia is going to be a handful for teams to deal with as the season progresses.”
Same JPJ
Despite an almost entirely different team that defeated FSU 60-57 in the home finale of the 2024-2025 season, a new coach, and an announced curious crowd of 13,751, the opponent found life difficult.
As Willard said, “This game gave us everything we could have wanted.”
Yes indeed, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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